Shadow Warrior
by Rasho
Summary: Two boys were born one night. Two children were attacked on the night off the prophecy. When one is ignored in favor of the other, what will the consequences be? The wizarding world are about to be taught a lesson by the first shadow human, Harry Potter.
1. Prologue

A/N: This fic has been adopted from Leon-reynauld. There will be some minor changes in the early chapters, with huge changes in the later ones.

Yes, this is another WrongBWL. I liked the story line, but not the writing style. Hopefully, it will be well received.

Enjoy

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**Prologue**

In a large, lonely cabin, a five year old kid lay on his bed, reading a tome that was almost as large as his upper body. From the contents, one would realize that the book was not a children's story book or a comic book. It was in fact a book on magic that was for eleven year olds, not for toddlers who could barely reach the dining table. And yet, the kid was flipping through the pages with an ease that not many adults had even after a lifetime of studying.

Yes, Harry Potter was an extraordinary boy. At the young age of two and a half Harry had tried to mimic his parents doing magic and managed to actually produce it, which was the day Harry had discovered he could do wandless magic. As time passed he found out that he didn't even need to say the words, all he had to do was want it to happen, focus on it a lot and it would then happen.

That he was a wizard was barely the tip of the iceberg. Ever since he was three and a half years old, he had been reading books to his hearts content. His first book was an old science text-book that belonged to his mother when she had attended primary school. And yet, he had no trouble grasping the concepts. And right now he was researching what the parallels were between Chemistry and Potions.

You see, to young Harry, text-books were his best friends. For, as long as he could remember, he was alone. Sure, he lived with his parents and twin brother. He even, supposedly, had a god-father and an uncle. However the only person that received any attention was his loud, obnoxious twin Nathan.

Ever since October 31st 1981, when the Potters were attacked by Lord Voldemort, Nathan had become instantly famous. He had become known throughout the wizarding world as the boy-who-lived because Voldemort had been defeated that night. Nathan had received a scar because of the encounter, a scar that was mere diagonal line which was two inches thick on his arm. The scar together with him being the only conscious person found after the attack was the main reason he was given credit of the defeat of Voldemort. No one even questioned whether his twin could have been the one to vanquish the dark lord, no one even checked Harry to actually see if he had any hidden scars.

In fact if one had been observing that fateful night they would have seen baby Harry cast a pure gold shield when Voldemort had cast the Killing curse towards the twins. One would have seen the curse rebound back on its caster, the gold shield creating a breaking apart right after that, and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt appear on baby Harry's head right before the killing curse struck back at Voldemort. That and also one might have seen a tired baby Harry looking at a mirror, frown and watch as the scar seemingly disappearing as baby Harry had cast a strong illusion over it before passing out of magical exhaustion.

Oh, Harry always knew about the scar, in fact he had to cast the illusion spell many time during his 5 years of life. His parents, till this day did not know, although, they would have if they ever had paid any attention to Harry. However, who cared about a seemingly powerless boy, when his brother was the one to vanquish the most evil person seen since Grindelwald. Nathan was the one that deserved all their attention, the favourite one among the twins. Harry was just their other son.

This was how Harry had lived his entire life, surrounded by love but never getting any. It was Nathan who always got what he wanted; the one that was truly loved by their parents. Nathan was the one who was allowed to sleep with his parent, when he got nightmares; while when Harry tried that he was told to face it like man, that there was nothing to be afraid of and go back to sleep in his room.

Today was the twin's birthday and tonight would be a party. The Potters only always invited their closest friends to this birthday party's, mainly because Nathan was still targeted by people. Harry was anxious for the party, just like any boy his age would be. He loved to get presents, although he only got presents from his parents. And those were nothing to what Nathan received from them. Yet it was still a gift, a gift from the very people that Harry wanted love from, so in turn he loved it.

* * *

As Harry made his way down for the party the guest started arriving. The only ones who were invited, Sirius and Remus, godfather to Harry and Nathan respectively.

The party started off the same as any party, Harry pushed to one side as the adults fawned over Nathan. However, when the cake served, Harry noticed something was wrong. He soon realized that the writing on the cake read 'Happy Birthday Nathan'. It seemed that they had all forgotten that another one of their sons had a birthday on the same day as that of Nathan.

A tear slid down his face, as he came to the realization that he was not loved by his parents. It was one thing to fawn over one child, but to be forgotten entirely especially on his birthday was devastating. He had always craved for his parents to love him as much as they did Nathan, but he now came to the conclusion that he was nothing more than a waste of space. Running up to his room, he closed the door and cried. Cried for the love he would never receive. And as he cried, a single thought repeated in his mind, a single wish turned into will in his mind, 'take me away, I want to go away to a place I will be loved'. He did not notice that he body glowed as his magic responded to his wish, and at that instance Harry Potter vanished from his room.

* * *

Downstairs, the party was going on when Lily Potter suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart, along with her motherly intuition going haywire, it was too much to take for her frail pregnant body that she fainted.

It was more or less half an hour letter when she woke up in hysterics, looking around the room, searching for the lost piece of her blood. Her eyes landed on Nathan and seeing that he was okay, she started looking for Harry. When there was no sign of him she turned too James.

"James, where is Harry?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I don't know, must have gone back to his room, love, are you okay?" he replied, he too with a tone of concern, but one directed to his wife and unborn child.

Lily immediately tried to get up but was quickly held down by James. "Honey, you need rest, you just fainted for Merlin's sake, lie down and don't move from there" he scolded to her.

"James I need to go to Harry, something has happened, I know it!" she cried worriedly.

It was then that James, trying to calm her down called for Harry. When there was no answer he then ran from the living room to Harry's bedroom looking for him. He practically knocked the door down entering Harry's room, only to find no signs of life. He knew that the only way to calm his wife down was to find Harry and fast, so with his knowledge gained from years of working as an auror he cast a locating charm for one Harry James Potter on a piece of paper.

Name: Harry James Potter

Location: UNKNOWN

Status: UNKNOWN

James face was white. He couldn't think. His body somehow managed to walk back to he living room, where, as he entered was grabbed by his frantic wife. Seeing the expression of her husband, she realized that something terrible had occurred.

"James, where is Harry…. James please tell me, you have to tell me, JAMES?" she cried out again, all James could do was show here the printing of the location charm. Upon seeing it she gave one last cry before fainting again.

* * *

In a far away land, young Harry Potter appeared in front of a lone figure, never to be heard or seen from again from most of the wizarding world for a long time.

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A/N: R&R.


	2. Chapter 1:The Search for Harry Potter

**Chapter 1: The Search for Harry Potter**

"Dumbledore, is there any sign of him?" asked Sirius.

"We are still searching, but rest assured we will find young Harry. I have had the old crowd looking for him since I was informed of his disappearance" Dumbledore assured him. With that, Sirius head vanished from the headmaster's fireplace. If one were to meet the headmaster right now they would see that the ever present twinkle in his eyes had greatly diminished, it had been a long time since he felt like this.

The headmaster sat himself back down onto his chair, frankly he was stumped, he had tried many location charms, tracking charms and even magical devices that could virtually locate anyone in the world, yet he was unable to find the boy. He had taken blood from Nathan, James and Lily to feed his devices, which should have enabled them to locate anyone through the fidelius charm or any anti-tracking charms, however the devices all failed to produce any desirable results.

It was not like he cared that the boy was gone. He had already formulated various plans to keep the boy from becoming a threat to 'The-boy-who-lived', some of which were being aided by the elder Potters' callous attitude. No, he was just worried that whoever had kidnapped Harry would come for Nathan. That would not do. The-boy-who-lived had to be under his 'guidance' or all would be lost. He just hoped that the Order would manage to find some clues into his disappearance before it was too late.

* * *

Sirius had been in contact with everyone from Dumbledore, to his informants in Knockturn Alley and other shady areas, and also the head of aurors, Rufus Scrimgeour, for the last day. Harry Potter was his godson, and therefore his responsibility. He knew that he never did act like a godfather in front of Harry, he had never even bought him a gift, but Harry was still his godson. And now that he had finally noticed that, he vowed that if Harry was found again things would be different. But he realized how difficult that would be. He barely had any memories of Harry after that night, and he knew that was entirely his fault.

Sirius hoped with all his heart that Harry was okay, that this was some kind of joke, or that the people that took him would give him back, but deep down he knew Harry Potter would not be seen again. Sirius also knew that the disappearance of Harry would crush James and Lily. Sure they still had Nathan, but to loose a son still hurt, and if he was honest with himself, Sirius knew that the Potters made the same mistake that he had done. They had all ignored Harry in favour of Nathan, which meant that they had lost a son that they never took a chance to really know.

* * *

Lily had recovered from her faint, only to hysterically cry for her lost child. James was trying his level best to calm her down, fearing for both his wife and their unborn child.

She was four months pregnant, and the strain was not good for her or the baby. When Remus mentioned to her that they were still looking, she had gone on a hunt through the house. It was some time later that Remus found her in Harry's room, together with several photos that had Harry in it. Most of them were family pictures with Harry in the background or with Harry and Nathan as babies. There was not a single photo with Harry just by himself. No photos of his first walk, his first broom ride, playful moments with his parents and uncles. No, the photos that contained Harry showed the true Potter family story. Even the photographic Harry seemed to be running away from his family as discreetly as possible.

It was then that Lily realized just how horrible a mother she had been to her son. She realized tht she barely knew Harry. She could not remember when Harry had said his first word or even what word was said, she could not remember when he had started walking, what his first accidental magic was or even when he started to read. The fact that the books in his room were more advanced then anything for a five year old to read was not lost on her either. When she looked around his room, a room which she had rarely entered, she sadly admitted to herself, she could see books that were not filled with brightly coloured pictures that most five year old would read. No, instead she found spell books and theory books on magic. These books were more suited for Hogwarts second years and up, yet here the books were, clearly having been in use for a while. Inside his room she could smell his scent. She had even cast a spell so that his scent would not fade with time. It was a smell that she was familiar with yes but not overly familiar with it like James or even Nathan. It was a smell that would remind her of her now lost son for years to come.

Lily knew that they ignored Harry a lot in favour of Nathan, to an extent that might even border neglect, after all it was Nathan that the prophecy spoke off. He was the one that might die some day, so in Lily's ever calculative mind she had thought to spend more time with Nathan and would make it up to Harry when he was older. Never in her worst nightmare would she have thought she would loose Harry before Nathan. She knew that Harry had run away. With the way they had treated him, it was a wonder why he had not tried this before. She had finally realized that she had forgotten to write Harry's name on his birthday cake along side Nathan's. 'Was this what had pushed him over the edge?' she had briefly thought to herself. She had then lay down on Harry's bed promising to herself that if he would ever return, she would never ignore him again. She also made the same promise to her unborn child, wanting to make sure that she would never make the same mistake twice.

* * *

James Potter was in his room, the room he shared with his beloved wife. He had already searched the entire house, along with the surrounding areas, and yet he could not find any clues about where his son went or who had taken him. Surely no five year old could vanish like that without a trace, yet his own son had managed to do that. James knew that he was good at location charms. He and his follow marauders had once come up with the Marauders map, a map which could even break through disguise charms and show the real names of people within Hogwarts. He had spent all his energy and knowledge trying to track down his son while Sirius went through all his contacts for help. Though, even he knew that if Dumbledore could not find him then it was a futile effort. At first had thought that his spells were not working and had then tried his spells on Nathan, then Lily. The results showed him their location, proving that theory wrong. Now he was in his room waiting for word from Sirius of the efforts of Dumbledore and the ministry. While he was in his room, he had tried to remember everything he could about his boy, yet he found that memories of Harry were few and far between. He kept asking himself how he could have done that to a child, a child that was of his own blood.

He sat on his desk with his head down in contemplation. Remembering the times he had brushed Harry away when the child looked to him for support. When Harry would stare longingly at him, while he was holding Nathan. He tried to remember where Harry was when he taught Nathan about Quidditch and realized that he had no clue about it. That was when he too made a vow to himself. It was the same vow that Lily and Sirius had made, a vow to never ignore his son when he found his son again.

* * *

Remus was in the Potters Living room, he was taking care of Nathan. The Potters were all busy. Lily was in Harry's room, while James was taking a rest in his own room. Remus desperately wanted to join the search, but he knew that his priority was Nathan. He could not let Nathan be taken like Harry. He could not understand how someone could just walk in here and take the boy. It never occurred to him that Harry might have run away.

Remus knew that Harry was a loner. But he never realized just how much it was due to the adults' ignorance. He knew that he had only given a present to Harry once, but he could not even recollect what it was. He had assumed that Sirius had always bought his godson something special for his birthdays. After all Nathan received so many things that never would someone believe that Harry Potter, his brother, was neglected most of the time. He tried to justify his actions by thinking 'I'm a werewolf who finds it difficult to get a job and hence couldn't get him anything'. But that fell flat on his own ears. After all he was able to give gifts to Nathan. And wasn't the thought more important than the gift itself?

He could see the pain etched into James and Lily's face. It was a pain that only a parent could feel; a pain of loosing a child. He had owed James so much, what with James and the other marauders helping him through his 'furry little problem'. So he too wanted to find Harry, if not for any other reason then to relieve the pain of James and Lily and to absolve himself of his errors.

* * *

Nathan was playing in the living room, with only his uncle Moony for company. He was too young to comprehend what had happened; only that Harry was missing. Yesterday was his birthday and he had received many toys, one of them was a toy broomstick and it was this toy that he was playing with now. He didn't understand why everyone was not around. He didn't understand the hurt look of his parents. He was just content to play with his toys. He did notice however that his uncle Sirius kept on coming into the living room and whispering to uncle Remus about things, things he assumed were only for the adult to know and every time he would do this uncle Remus face would go into a frown.

He thought that the adults would only play with him once Harry was found and so went searching for him, with Remus following closely by. At first he tried looking for Harry in his room, but all he found there was his mommy, sleeping on the bed with pictures of him and the family, then he went looking around the house but he could not find him, he thought Harry was playing hide and seek and so would wait for Harry to give up on the game.

* * *

Far away, Harry Potter sat in the middle of a circle, the circle itself was made up of dark figures. If one looked closely you would be able to tell that this figures, even though they had a humanoid body, were not human, for one they had distinctively pointy ears. These were the Shadow Elves who had once belonged to the same dimension as Earth. They had infact lived among the wizards of earth until they had been under the threat of extinction.

The clothes that this people wore were nothing like any wizard would wear or could even imagine. The clothes stuck to their skin, almost becoming like a second skin. Their cloak seemed to be made of the air itself as it waved in the wind. These people sat in a circle contemplating what they would do with this human child.

It had been many centuries since any of them had contact with a human, the last being Merlin, who had closed the gate between their dimensions to save them from Morgana's army. And now here, a thousand decades later, sat a human child, not older then five years old. An elder of the tribe name Ulthias had called the council together to grant him the adoption of this boy. Many locals had argued and some even begged, to return the child back to the humans, believing he would bring them trouble that they were keen to avoid. However, when the council and the people learned of his story through their mind arts, every elf, be it an elder or local, declared that Harry Potter would from that day be one of their own. And that is how, the first Shadow Human was born

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A/N : Here's the next chapter. Please be patient with me. I'm juggling college, classes and two stories, so updates might be once every two weeks.

Check my profile for regular reports and updates.

Also to my faithful reviewers:

Teufel1987:Thanks for pointing the error. Thats why I need a beta-reader in the first place. Also most of the words are from the original author, whose wordings were atrocious. Also, the cabin I meant was his room. What I meant to describe was that their house was so large, that his room could be compared to a small cabin. But it was still lonely.

Slytherin66: No Harry will not be evil. In fact he will be loved by some people. That doesn't mean he is not dark or that he won't have his revenge. Just don't expect a psycho who slaughters everyone he hates. Keep reading and reviewing. You may still like it.

OakDarkleaf: Thanks for the advice. I'd also welcome plot lines that I can add to this story.

As always R&R


	3. Chapter 2: His New Life

**A/N:**Sorry for the delay. Real life takes precedence.

There are two polls on my profile. Please take part in it.

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**Chapter 2: His new life.**

Ulthias was one of the most respected elders of the land. By human measurement, he would stand at 6 feet, 3 inches, an average height for elves. His skin was a light shade of brown like most of the other elves. He had long white hair that reached his waist, and it was tied at various places to be more manageable with a small dagger hidden in it. His ears were slightly pointed at the top, and he wore loose fitting clothes that swayed in the wind. His eyes were a startling golden colour that seemed to shine with an inner purity.

The aged elf had two children. The eldest was a daughter by the name Ayana. With coal black eyes that had a depth to them that reminded one of a black hole, striking jaw line and beautiful bronze skin, she was one who commanded fear and respect. And yet, the elves praised for her kindness and love towards one and all. She was the leader of the house and would take Ulthias' place when he retired from the council of elders. Ayana's husband was Rivan, the best male archer, second only to Ayana herself. He was also considered one of the best swordsmen of the land. They had met first at the archery grounds, and their rivalry soon turned into love. The only problem with their marriage was that they were unable to produce an heir. However, this problem was resolved when they adopted Harry.

Ayana had a younger brother, Gura, who was the most laid-back person of their land. If one ever went searching for him, he could be seen either resting on a hammock near the waterfall, or sleeping on the open fields. And yet, the elves had learned to respect the young master. When he got angry, his cold blue eyes frosted over like ice. If his light blue aura started becoming visible, the elves ran away in fear for their lives. In his youth he had defeated the top swordsman of their nation, an elf who was capable of defeating five warriors without breaking a sweat, in under a minute, with less than five blows. The feat had made him a legend in their land and so, no one dared criticize his laid back attitude. No one other than his sister, that is. Even then, he would dismiss her preaching with a smile, and then go back to sleep while their parents watched on in mirth.

The one person who kept them all grounded was Ulthias' wife Rashi. While Ulthias and Ayana led the family decisions, Rashi was the family pillar. She would listen to Ulthias and Ayana while they made various decisions, often giving valuable input. She had raised her children with just the proper amount of love and strictness. She was also the best cook in the house, and could be often heard bemoaning the fact that neither of her children had inherited her love for cooking.

The family shared a single trait of wearing two earrings on each ear. While their sizes and shapes varied, they still had many common factors. The earrings at the lobe were covered in runes. The other two earrings were in the form of rain drops, and seemed to be filled with a strange substance. Any strong elf would realize that the earrings pulsed with magic, but what it was no one knew. There had once been a failed attack on the family to extract the secret of the earrings. However, at the end of the attack, the elves realized just how powerful the family was, and the legend grew.

It was this family that had found Harry unconscious after his crossing. They had quickly taken him to the council after healing him, although he was still unconscious. After the meeting Harry's fate was decided; Ulthias would adopt him into his family as his grandson. Harry was then taken to his new family's house, where he finally woke up after 4 days of rest.

* * *

Blinking at the sudden brightness, Harry opened his eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. He seemed to be in a small, rectangular room that was brightly lit by the sun's rays. The bed he lay on was quite comfortable and seemed to be made of animal skin. Even his blanket was animal fur; however he could not identify the animal it came from. The walls were brown, seemingly coated with earth and leaves. Light streamed in through two circular windows, while the ceiling was made of huge leaves. And sitting next to his bed was the oddest man he had ever seen.

"How do you feel, Harry?"

"I'm fine, thank you." he replied mechanically. When he realized that the man would not speak any further he spoke up, "I don't mean to be rude, but who are you? How do you know my name?"

"All in good time Harry." Seeing the anger in the young child's eyes, the man said quickly "I am not the best person to handle your questions child. How about this? I'll bring the people who can answer most of your questions if you will finish this soup." He indicated the bowl he had placed on the table next to the bed. When Harry gave a nod of acceptance, the man quickly left the room.

* * *

By the time Harry was half-way through his soup (which he gathered was chicken soup) the odd man entered his room with four others. Three of them wore hooded cloaks that masked their faces. The fourth one however, caught his attention. , He looked older than da-_James_ and had a striking resemblance to the first man that led Harry to the conclusion that the two were father and son. He also guessed that the people were not wizards for he had never seen any wizard wear such clothes or have pointed ears.

"Hello Harry," the new man said softly. "I'm glad to see you awake."

"Who are you? What are you? How do you know my name?" the five year old asked in rapid fire, barely drawing breath between questions.

"You are quite perceptive," the man chuckled. "My name is Ulthias. I'm a Shadow Elf."

"Is that something like house-elves?" Harry asked with childlike curiously.

"In a way, yes," Replied Ulthias, "However there are a lot of differences. For example..." he was interrupted by one of the cloaked figures clearing his throat. "Oh sorry, guess I got side tracked. Anyway Harry, as I said my name is Ulthias. The person that was next to you when you woke up is my son Gura. As you can see we are not humans. We are Shadow Elves. I am one of the elders and I welcome you to our land."

"Okaay. So what does that mean? Where exactly am I?"

"This is the Gaia, a sort of mirror world to your own Earth. The difference is that there are no humans in this world. Here you will find all the tribes that once belonged to your world, before they all left for Gaia. Also there are the indigenous tribes of this world. We all live here in relative peace, away from the battles of Man and Wizard alike."

"But how did I get here?"

"I believe I can answer that Mr. Potter." One of the cloaked figures said. "Do you remember your birthday?"

"It's just Harry. I am no Potter! And to answer your question, with perfect clarity!" spat Harry, sadness, hurt and anger colouring his voice.

All five people raised their eyebrows at his declaration. However, the cloaked figure chose to ignore it and continued with his explanation.

"When you ran to your room and wished to be taken away, your magic activated to the full extent, as your only desire was to be somewhere else. This caught the attention of a shadow sprite that was passing through. When the sprite realized the intent, he used his own magic to twist your magic into fulfilling your wish. He sent you to me, and I sent you to Ulthias."

"What's a shadow sprite?"

Ulthias opened his mouth to answer, but the cloaked figure interjected "I have no doubt Ulthias will explain everything about any creature you want to know. However, there is a matter at hand, as to what to do with you."

"Do you want me to leave?"

"Do you want to leave?" asked the figure impassively.

That brought Harry up short. 'Do I need to leave? It's true that I don't know anything about these people, but how bad can it be. It isn't like I have someone waiting for me back on earth.' He thought with sadness.

"What would I gain by leaving?" Harry spoke more to himself, looking down at the sheets, "I don't have any other place to go. I might as well stay here." He looked up at the elves crowded around at the end of his bed, "But tell me first, how do you know so much about me? And what would my stay here entail? Do I have to pay for my stay in some way?"

"That is between you and Ulthias. He has been assigned as your guardian for your stay here. As to how we know so much about you, I'm afraid it's because we used the Mind Arts to look into your past and why you came to be here. I'm truly sorry for that, Harry."

"Great! So now everyone knows what has happened don't they?" Harry said with a mixture of shame and anger at his unhappy past and all his little secrets being laid bare in front of strangers with impunity and being made public knowledge.

"I'm afraid so Harry. Forgive me but that was the only way I could convince the people to let a human stay here."

"Its fine," said Harry after a pause, his anger leaving him as fast as it came, "I can always leave if it gets too bad can't I?"

"Yes. But I hope it doesn't come to that."

"What happened to the shadow sprite? Can I meet him?"

"Why don't you rest up for now?" Ulthias suggested. "I'll ask him to meet you in three days time. Is that alright?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Yes. Thank you."

"Now, if there is nothing else I'm afraid we must be leaving."

"One last question," Harry said looking at the mysterious cloaked figures who were preparing to leave, "Who are you, and why are your faces covered?"

"We are the tribunal of magic." One of the cloaked figures replied shortly, "Why don't you ask Ulthias about it later? You are still weak from your travel. Rest, I shall come later to visit you sometime."

And with that, the mysterious tribunal left the young child with a lot of questions, and few answers.

* * *

Three days later...

Harry woke up early that day, eager to meet the sprite that had helped him warp to Gaia. The previous three days had been quite informative. He had met all the members of the family, and had fallen in love with all of them (although he would deny it to anyone else). Ayana and Rivan had already adopted him as their son. He could not get enough of Rashi's odd sense of humour. He was fascinated by Gura's laid-back attitude. However, he spent most of his time with Ulthias learning about the tribes of Gaia.

Gaia boasted of a large variety of flora, many of the plants growing there were stuff of legends back on Earth. The water of the world was in its purest form, maintained largely due to the efforts of the sprites. Gaia was also good to a large number of tribes that had migrated from Earth as well as two of its indigenous species: the sprites and the dragens.

Dragens were an extremely powerful race and along with the sprites had looked after the welfare of Gaia. They were in fact the ancestors of dragons. The story goes that the dragens had once opened a portal between the two worlds. This had been a long time ago, when humans were the minority and were still struggling to survive. At the time, the world was ruled by two factions called the Angels and the Demons. They were constantly at war with each other, creating unrest in the world. When the dragens had arrived, both the factions had felt their power, and had tried to control them. Realising this quickly, the dragens created dragons as a decoy. The dragons were strong beings, but not in the same league as the Dragens. While the Angels and the Demons were busy trying to capture the dragons, the dragens worked out how to reopen the portal between the two worlds and had then left Earth, never to return again.

Dragens have two base forms. The first form, which was the most natural, was similar to that of dragons. However, the size of a fully grown Horntail, which was the largest dragon, would be the same as that of a dragen child. The height of the smallest fully grown dragen was at least one and half times that of the average Horntail. This form was used when the dragens grew up and when they wanted to fly.

The second form was one that the dragens used, once they were deemed an adult by the Dragen Council. In this form, the dragen had the same body as that of an adult human being. The face was also similar to that of elves. However, their entire body was covered in scales. They usually wore cloaks made from their own discarded scales.

There were six types of Sprites indigenous to Gaia. Each type was part of a unique community that once ruled all of Gaia. Sprites had no limitations on their physical appearance. They could change into any creature, ranging from an ant to a dragon. Their true shape was unknown to anyone. The popular theory was that they were the elements in the purest form.

The fire sprites were the most temperamental, and also possessed the most destructive power. They went under the banner of 'Agni'. It was their job to protect the innocent and they were soldiers during wars.

In striking contrast to them, were the water sprites. Calm and collected, they were the thinkers. Their banner was 'Agua', and they cared for the water dwellers. Each and every water sprite was an excellent strategist, and loved to play games like chess that tested their mental capabilities.

The third group of sprites was the Earth sprites under the tag of 'Edafos'. These sprites were the most fun loving sprites that could be seen dancing and playing around, playing practical jokes on others and spreading joy and laughter all around. They made sure that the plants were healthy and were mainly responsible for Gaia's climate.

The fourth group was the 'Enlil'. They were the Air Sprites, who would constantly roam around throughout Gaia, gathering information from the various tribes inhabiting the world. They were the drifters, moving from place to place, their destinations as fickle as the ever changing winds.

These four groups were the foundations of both Gaia as well as the Sprite tribe. They were directly involved in the well being of all the inhabitants of Gaia, be they Elves, Nymphs or the various trees and plants. No one was denied the assistance of the sprites, and they quickly became the unofficial government of Gaia.

The other two groups of sprites were solely responsible for the protection and governance of Gaia. These were the Shadow and Light sprites. The Light sprites, widely known as 'Illuminatus' were the governing body. All the information from the other sprite groups was received by the Illuminatus, and they were responsible for the tough decisions that were necessary for peace in the land. All the tribes answered to them and they answered only to the Tribunal.

The Shadow sprites were the ultimate group of mercenaries. Spies and warriors with devastating control over magic, the 'Lunar Society' was almost an invincible force. Their ability to blend and move in the shadows made them the ultimate spies. Unlike the air sprites, they would not randomly travel around the world, but use information gathered by the Enlil to contain threats to peace in Gaia. They worked for both the Tribunal as well as the Illuminatus, and were also a small governing body, although of a very small scale.

The members of the Illuminatus and the Lunar Society were the only sprites that would travel between the worlds. Although all sprites had the inherent ability to travel to other worlds, the four fundamental tribes mainly focused on Gaia. Even the members of the Illuminatus preferred to govern Gaia rather than get involved in the affairs of foreign worlds. However, it was the basic nature of the Shadow sprites to travel to other worlds and discretely observe other civilizations from the shadows, even interfering in their affairs if the situation warranted it.

And with all this information floating around in his head, Harry waited to meet his saviour.

* * *

Outside the house, two solitary figures stood, silently observing the child. The silence was finally broken by one of the figures.

"Are you ready for this?"

"I am. The question is, is he?"

* * *

A/N:

Agni: Fire in Hindi

Agua: Spanish for water

Edafos: Greek for land.

Enlil: Sumerian God of Air (An ancient civilization)


	4. Chapter 3:The Enigma

A/N: You may have noticed (MAY) that I've changed the description from Harry/Ginny to Harry/OC. This is NOT a pairing. i'm NOT SURE of the pairings and since its obvious I'm going to write more about Harry's childhood, currently its NO PAIRING. I'll decide the pairing later on.

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Enigma**

The sun was shining brightly overhead as Gura enjoyed his favourite pastime: lazing around on his hammock, the trees providing him shade and his magic cooling the air. Very few people realized that his lazing around was a cover to practice his magic discreetly and a way to exercise his brain. And currently, his mind was in overdrive.

Shadow Elves were the elves of lore. They had formed a pact with the Lunar Society. This was similar to the pact that the Nymphs had created with the Edafos clan, or the one between the Sea People and the Agua clan. The pact was a magical bond, which lent the Elves some of the abilities of the Shadow Sprites, such as travelling through shadows (or Shadow Walking), stealth, and to some extent, Shadow Morphing. In return, the dying magic of the sprites had been rejuvenated by the introduction of the Elvin magic.

Now, Gura was not an ordinary Shadow Elf. Unlike the other elves, Gura's specialty was not the control of shadows, but that of air. In the Shadow arts, he was the same level as that of an adolescent elf. As a child, it had been difficult to accept that his magic was one of the weakest among the elves. However, all this changed when one day, while sparring with his father, his magic had taken over, and he had blown his father away with a huge gust of wind. The two soon realized that his true calling laid in the wind arts. In order to help his son, Ulthias had taken Gura on a journey across Gaia. Along with the help of Arche, a wind sprite they met during their travels, he had soon grown into a strong and able warrior.

Two years after they started their journey, Ulthias returned home to look after his wife and daughter, while Gura travelled with Arche to learn more about Gaia. On his travels, he had met with others who were like him, people who could use more than one type of elemental magic. He heard stories of their adventures, how some of them, including their families, shunned them for not following the path of their tribes, while others resented them for their abilities. He had learned that very few accepted them as individuals with different talents. All their tales had one common factor, the support they received from the Tribunal and from the Chief Mages of the various sprite clans.

They had travelled through the three continents of Gaia, as travellers with a goal to see as much as possible before they had to go back home. The Northern Continent was their first stop. Home to Arche, and the other Wind, as well as Earth Sprites, both master and apprentice enjoyed their three-year long stay. The Northern Continent was the largest continent, with three quarters made of tropical forests and lush green fields. To the extreme north lay tall, snow-capped mountains, the nesting grounds for Dragens. The continent was heaven for a bird-watcher. There were many species of rare non magical birds there, as well as magical beings like hippogriffs and griffins. Wild horses also could be seen running free with unbridled joy. Farms had been built and managed by Harpies and Nymphs, with the help of wind sprites. Cows, bulls and various poultry grew fat and healthy due to the clean atmosphere and healthy land.

Here, Gura learned how to harness his ability to manipulate air from the master of the Wind Arts. His swordsmanship improved under the tutelage of the Grand General of the Edafos tribe, Ryu Kushin. He became friends with the Dragen, Lord Raiken, who would become a member of the Tribunal by the time Gura had completed his travels. From his mentor, he learned how lazing around could be just as beneficial as hard work. The air, land and food helped him grow into a strong, albeit young warrior. The Beast-speaker Vishnu taught him to respect all creatures. Gura enjoyed the feeling of air whipping his face as he rode hippogriffs, and also witnessed the hatching of four new next stop was the Southern Continent. The Northern and Southern continents were separated by a thin strip of land that was accessible only at low tides, with the ocean on both sides of the strip. Ferry services were operated by the sea people, where beings would be transported by boats as well as sea creatures like blue whales, when they were willing to help and people were willing to take the risks. The Southern continent was a polar opposite of the Northern continent. Smaller than the Northern continent, it mainly consisted of large deserts, home to the Agni and Illuminatus tribes. The Agua clan had, with the help of the Edafos tribe, created a series of Oasis for travellers to escape the scorching heat of the land.

The Southern continent was instrumental in helping Gura stabilise his magic. The main weakness of all shadow beings was light. With the sun shining for around eighteen hours a day, Gura's magic had to help him overcome his weakness. Although Arche helped him when necessary, she mainly let his magic do the work, for she knew that he had to yet accept the Air magic as a part of him. After about a month, Gura had finally accepted his powers as a part of himself, and took care of that particular chink in his armour. He helped protect a family of salamanders from a group of rouge trolls, earning him the title of 'Protector'. He made friends with ashwinders, got bonded to a king scorpion, and impressed the fire sprites by defeating their top swordsman. He learned of heartbreak, when he fell in love with, and was rejected by Kshira, a fire sprite and daughter of one of the leaders of Agni.

One year after they entered Southern Continent, master and apprentice made their way to Atlantis, home of the Sea People and the Agua tribe. While the three continents made up 70 percent of Gaia, the remaining 30 percent was the domain of Agua, who were helped by the Sea People. During her younger years, Arche had often travelled to Atlantis on missions for the Enlil tribe, and was therefore welcomed to Atlantis by her close friend and ally, Mera, Queen of Atlantis. The people of Atlantis were fierce warriors, known for their skill with spear and sword. On the very first day, Gura had been challenged to a fight by one of the most skilled warriors of the region, where he had lost the match due to his unfamiliarity with a spear. However, what he did not realize was that the match was being watched closely by Lord Zakai, the ruler of Atlantis. What followed was six gruelling months of training under the king, while Arche spent her time gossiping with Mera.

Four and a half years after he left on his journey, Gura returned back home to Regalia, home of the Lunar Society. Regalia was the smallest continent, with most of the land covered in thick forests, and mountains so high they blocked out the sun. The main inhabitants of the land were the shadow sprites and shadow elves, as well as other shadow beings like Shadow Hounds, ancient wolves that had also formed a pact with the Shadow elves. Regalia also had a clearing at its eastern coast, a land called Avalon, in tribute to Merlin. It was the place where all the tribes held meetings annually, and was also the headquarters of the Tribunal. So, it was back in his homeland that Gura entered the final phase of his training.

He learned to sense the flow of magic in the air. He soon developed a way to combine this talent with his weapon skills, which would one day make him a premier swordsman of Gaia. The talent to sense magic paved the way for a form of Mage Sight. This ability allowed him to sense any concentrated source of magic, thus enabling him to see the magical cores of all beings, provided they did not mask their magic. He also could not see his own magical core.

Presently, it was this very ability that had caused his mind to work overtime.

While he was tending to Harry right after his travel from Earth to Gaia, he had used his Sight to check for any anomalies in the child's magic. However, what he had seen had both astonished and frightened him. The boy's potential had been staggering. When he had activated the first level of his Sight, Gura had seen the amount of magic that flowed through the body. And that had had him immensely scared for the boy. He wondered how any child could handle such large quantities of magic without causing harm to his body. He had soon come to the realization that the magic had helped the boy's body recover from the poor lack of proper care that was a result of his stay with his biological parents. Satisfied with his theory, he had then activated the second level of his Sight. And then he almost fainted.

A spot on the child's forehead positively reeked of evil magic. It was similar, yet very different from Harry's own magic. At one glance, no one would be able to differentiate between the two types of magic present in the child. However, with his Sight, Gura could see the constant battle for dominance between the external magic and Harry's own core.

And yet that wasn't the end of the surprises. Once he got over the fact that the boy had two warring magic sources in his body, the next step had been to examine his core. Generally, every living being had a core that varied in size. All cores were in the form of solid spheres, with patches of different colours. Each colour represented the various abilities the being had, though it varied from being to being. However, Harry's core seemed to be a combination of small spheres, interconnected by various tube-like channels. Each sphere was made of a single colour, with no patches on it. It was the first time Gura had seen such a core and it had him stumped.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the arrival of two strong magical beings. Recognizing one of the signatures, he leapt out of his hammock, hoping to meet them before they met the child.

* * *

The two cloaked figures walked silently, wondering how the talk would go. They had planned for various scenarios, but both of them were experienced enough to know that it was very easy for even the best laid plans to tumble down like a house of cards in the wind.

As they were about to reach the house, they were intercepted by an unusually excited Gura.

"Long time no see, Lord Raiken."

"Yes, it's been what, five months since we last met?"

"Your memory is as good as ever. How have you been my lord?"

"I am well. Thank you for your concern Gura."

"May I be so bold as to enquire about your companion's name?"

"This here is my dear friend, Lord Dhaos, Chief Mage of the Lunar Society."

Chief Mage was the title given to the leader of the shadow sprites, and in turn, the shadow elves. When Gura realized exactly who was standing in front of him, his eyes widened comically for a second, before he fell on his right knee, head bowed in respect and admiration.

"My liege, I welcome you to our humble abode."

This had the effect of Dhaos making a choking sound, while Raiken had an ear splitting grin on his face.

"Yes, yes, I owe you a dinner Raiken. Now wipe that smug look off your face. Rise Gura, thank you for the invitation. And the next time you do this when not in official settings, be ready to have your posterior kicked to the other side of Gaia."

"As you wish, my Lord,"

"Now you're just plain irritating."

"That was the plan," interjected Raiken. "It's been six years since I first met Gura. I gave up trying to stop him calling me lord after six months. It's just his way of being irritating without offending anyone."

All three beings had a good laugh at the young shadow elf's antics before their talk turned to that of the human child.

"How is he Gura?"

"He is better physically. Mentally, it will take some time. But considering his age, I don't think it will take longer than a month. What I'm worried about is his magic though."

With that, Gura launched into a lengthy explanation, detailing his findings regarding Harry's core with as much detail he could remember. Once he had finished reporting his observations, Dhaos had a contemplative look on his face, while Raiken was eyeing Gura with open admiration.

"You have come a long way Gura. No longer are you the child who was confused as to who he was and how he fit into the greater scheme of things. Arche will be happy. I would advise you to visit her soon though. She has been heard grumbling about uncaring apprentices and what she would like to do with them. Gave the listeners more than a few goosebumps I assure you."

As much as he tried to, Gura could not stop the shiver running down his spine at that thought. The last time he had been punished was when he had disregarded her advice and fallen into a trap, from which he had to be saved from by Arche herself. He swore that his right buttock never remained the same after that day.

"As amusing as it is to hear about Arche's punishment techniques, I think we should get back to the topic at hand. Now, normally, Raiken and I protect our cores from being discovered by Sight users like you. However, I think it's time you got a proper look at our real cores and not the fake images that we feed you."

Curiosity piqued, Gura activated his Sight. Just as Dhaos had said, the cores that had appeared to be regular cores that were bigger than usual had been replaced by cores similar to the one that belonged to Harry. On closer observation, he saw that Raiken had one sphere more than Dhaos. And yet, he could have sworn that Harry had at least one sphere more than that of Raiken. Ending his Sight, he turned his attention back to the two lords.

"The cores that each of us have are what we termed as Magus Cores," explained Raiken. "They were termed so, due to the fact that such cores were mainly found in beings that eventually became Mages or Grand-Mages. The specialty of such cores is that each sphere corresponds to a different ability. It is similar to normal cores, where there are patches that correspond to the various abilities. However, since each ability has its own sphere here, it means that the person can obtain full control of that ability. Tell me Gura, can you see your own core with your ability?"

"No. Is that even possible?"

"Yes, when you reach the third and final level of your Sight, you should be able to see your own core, as well as see how much a person has mastered his abilities. Since you are unable to see your own core, Lord Dhaos, would you please tell us what it shows."

"You could have done that yourself, you lazy ass," Dhaos retorted with a sigh. "Hmm. Congratulations. There are six spheres, just one less than my count. The sphere corresponding to Air magic is the largest, while that of Shadow magic seems to be the smallest. Both of them are completely full, so that means you have mastered the two magics. There is another sphere that is half full, and has a size comparable to that of your Air magic. From what I've heard, I would guess that it belongs to your skills in weaponry. The sphere belonging to your Sight is filled slightly more than half, and is away from all the other spheres, with no connections to any of them. I advise you to try and combine the two magics and strengthen the connections between them and the sphere for weaponry. It will help you to use your abilities more freely. The last two spheres are completely empty and have an average size. I am sorry, but I cannot tell what they correspond to. It is something you will have to uncover on your own. Do let me know once you uncover them."

As he tried to grasp what he had just been told, Gura missed the look that the two Lords exchanged with each other. After a minute or so, Gura shook himself out of his stupor.

"There's one more thing. I'm not too sure, but I think the child's core is still slightly different from ours. For one, I'm pretty certain that he has nine spheres. But it's the arrangement that scares me. I think it would be best if the two of you see it with your own Sight. And I'm also worried about the dark magic around his forehead. How will it affect Harry? He already shows an unhealthy amount of hate, although there is no doubt as to why and whom it is directed towards. Can we say for certain that it is not influencing him?"

With a weary sigh, Dhaos replied, "It is something we were expecting to address. Why don't you locate Ulthias and bring him to the boy's room in two hours? It will give us some time to talk to the child in private."

Eyebrows raised in curiosity, Gura's first instinct was to badger the two for an explanation. However, he realized that although they were friends, the two beings in front of him were still Lords who would have reasons for their actions. With a nod of acceptance, he left to find his father, while the two Lords made their way to the enigma that was Harry Potter. They were slightly worried about the presence of the Dark Magic in the boy. The hate the boy possessed also was a bit concerning. Hopefully in their care, Harry finally would find peace with himself and be able to put the past behind him.

* * *

A/N:Hope you liked the chapter. I tried to explain what Gaia looks like and the administration of the land.

The next chapter won't be up for atleast a month. Bear with me please.

Reviews and suggestions appreciated.


	5. Chapter 4:Aku and the mysterious lady

**Chapter 4: Aku and the mysterious lady.**

She could feel it. It was always the same. The joy, happiness, excitement, the ecstasy, the feelings of dread, anger, resentment, emptiness, longing all rolled into one. Something was about to happen. Something, that would turn the world (or should it be worlds?) on its head. And if someone were to ask her, she would say 'It was about bloody time that it happened.'

* * *

"So, basically, I have a growth in my head, that will either take over me or make me crazy, unless it is treated as fast as possible?" Harry asked the two lords, unsuccessfully trying to control his fear and anger.

"Yes," Dhaos answered cautiously, ready to defend himself if the child's magic went berserk.

"And it is possible that the leech grows stronger every time I use magic?"

"Uh-huh" was Raiken's eloquent reply.

"And the only treatment is an ancient ritual, that has a very low chance of working, since the last known occurrence was over twenty decades ago."

This time, the only response he got was a nod from both the lords.

"I'm screwed aren't I?"

"Well, look on the bright side. If it does work, you are free from the parasite forever, and if it doesn't work, I get to research on other ways to get it removed," replied Dhaos with a gleam in his eyes at the thought of research.

"Fine. Now, if I remember correctly, I was supposed to meet my savior today. So who among you two gentlemen am I supposed to thank for giving me a chance at a better life?"

"Actually, neither. Your real savior should be here right about…"

At that instant, Dhaos's shadow grew for a moment and then a woman jumped out of it. She had jet black hair that reached her waist. Her beautiful, grey eyes sparkled with mirth. She was dressed in black leather pants, and a black and red shirt. While many would be drawn to her ample cleavage, Harry, being a kid, barely gave any notice to it. Instead his eyes were drawn to the two small horns protruding from her forehead. He was so mesmerized by it that he almost missed the rest of the conversation.

"… now. You really have a flair for theatrics don't you, Aku?"

"*%^&%$#%& #^!*%#"

"Um, what did she just say?" Harry asked Raiken.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot that you didn't know the sprite language, Roztwór. Here, I'll put the translation spell on you. Aku, be a dear and repeat that for our guest would you"

"I said, 'I'm a drama queen and I'm damn proud of it.'"

Harry blinked. Once. Twice. Then he turned to Raiken, "She's the one who rescued me? Are you sure?"

SLAP.

"_Ow-!_ That hurt."

"And the next time you diss me, it won't be your head that I'll be slapping."

"Ok. Ok. I'm sorry. Jeez. I'm gonna need some ice now."

Raiken interjected before Aku could say anything else. "So did you get it?"

"Of course I did. Who do you think you're talking to? Here ya go kid. I got you a gift. I gave the others a gift too."

Tears filled his eyes when he realised that her 'gift' were the things from his old bedroom at the Potters' place that he didn't realise he was missing until now. It was at that moment that the second part of her statement made an impact on his thought process.

"What do you mean you gave the others a gift? Who are the others you're talking about?"

* * *

He had just popped one of his sherbet lemons in his mouth, when the alarm rang. As he jumped to attention, the fireplace in his office flared green before a head was seen in the flames.

"Albus, the alarm on Harry's room is ringing. Please get here as soon as you can. James has already left to investigate."

"Stand aside Lily. I'm coming over."

With that, Albus Dumbledore, stepped into the fireplace and Flooed over to the Potter mansion. Without waiting to talk to Lily, he hurried towards Harry's now empty old room, looking majestic even though he was wearing his most garish set of orange robes. The sight he met with would shock all those who entered, and even make a few of them smile.

The entire room had been emptied out, and all the walls had been painted black. And in the centre of each wall, a white fist had been painted with the middle finger sticking out.

* * *

Once he had finished laughing himself hoarse at Aku's antics, Harry finished his chat with the two lords. Despite the reservations he had in carrying out an unknown ritual, Harry agreed to go ahead with it. It had been Aku's argument that had sealed his decision.

"Look kiddo, you've got two choices: one, where you take part in the ritual and hopefully be free of the parasite, or two, where you don't take part and you may never be able to remove it while it slowly kills you."

Needless to say, Harry preferred living over being killed by a magical leech, especially now that he had a shot at a new life, away from the influence of his 'family'.

"Well now that we are done with this, I think we should leave. Gura has not yet returned and I need to inform Ulthias of your decision. So take care of yourself kid. Aku, you are hereby dismissed from active duty…"

"WHAT!"

"…Let me complete. You are hereby dismissed from active duty. Your current orders are to take care of the boy till the ritual takes place."

"Hey, I've got enough minders here. No need for another old lady to take care of me."

BAM.

"_Ow-!_ you hit me in the same place as before."

"Looks like the two of you will get along just fine. And remember Harry, no magic…"

"Yeah, yeah, no magic till the ritual takes place. I take it that the old woman is here to make sure that I don't perform any magic huh."

As soon as he said this, Harry could sense the killer aura emanating from the shadow sprite. In a flash, he was on his feet, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Come back here you little runt. Old lady am I? I'll show you just how old I am. Come back here!"

"Yes, those two will get along just fine."

At that moment, Gura entered the room along with his father, and with a glance at the duo quipped, "So, what did I miss?"

* * *

"Hey brat where are you? Come on, we're going to the village. BRAT! Come on."

"I'm coming you old hag. Jeez. You'd think that someone at your age wouldn't be so excitable."

"Brat, be thankful that I'm in a good mood. Now come on. I need to buy some shoes."

It had been two days since the meeting, and the two days had been… exciting to say the least. Aku had stuck by Harry almost throughout the first day, leading to many embarrassing situations. Finally, Harry had enough of it when she barged into the bushes while he was taking a leak. Since then, he had taken to hiding from her, just to preserve his sanity.

"And why do you need new shoes? Don't you already have nineteen pairs with you?"

"Well I need to make it an even twenty. And shouldn't you be excited? It's your first time to the village isn't it?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I be excited to meet the people who saw my 'happy' past while I was unconscious?" he commented sarcastically.

"Yes, yes, you had a bad past. Now everyone knows of it. So stop your pathetic whining, and come on. We need to shop for you as well."

"And where do I get the money for my things?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll think of something."

Now he just had to find out why he had a sense of foreboding at that statement.

* * *

While he was loath to admit it, Harry had indeed enjoyed his excursion to the elf village, Lothlorien. Unlike what he was expecting, the villagers did not look at him with pity. While some were still uneasy having a human amongst them, most of the villagers simply chose to ignore that fact and treated him the same way they treated their kids.

The Potters had never let Harry outside the manor due to security reasons. Because of that, Harry was in constant awe of the hustle and bustle of the village. As much as he tried to, he could just not clamp down on his emotions, and the villagers had smiles on their faces at the expressions of their newest member. He would follow Aku around as she flitted between the shops, giving his comments on her purchase (that led to more than a few swats at his head), trying on various pieces of clothing and just enjoying himself.

While Aku was still shopping (this time for a new shirt), Harry decided to take a break. He had seen a few children running around flying kites and decided to silently observe them. As much as he was tempted to join them, he was afraid of their reaction. He was still getting over his treatment at the hands of the Potters, and while he was happy to be at a place where they could not influence his friendship, he was still a kid afraid of rejection. As he stared at the kids, he did not realize that someone had been watching him too until he heard a voice directed at him.

"So do you like to fly kites?"

Startled, Harry turned his head to look at the new arrival. A young shadow elf was standing, his frame supported by a tree. His brown hair curled all the way to his shoulders. He had a firm jaw that was pointed to the sky as he looked on at the numerous colourful kites in the sky. He was dressed in a hunting suit (atleast that's what the shopkeeper had told him when he had enquired). He turned back to watch the other kids, before replying to the sudden question.

"Don't know. I've never tried it before."

"Really? Come on then, I've got a kite here with me. I'll teach you how to fly it."

"Thank you. Are you sure you want to waste your time with me though."

"It's fine. My name is Richard. You can call me Rick."

"My name's Harry. Nice to meet you."

And with that, Harry had formed his first friend at Gaia.

* * *

Each morning was spent with his new family, mainly with his new parents. Both Ayana and Rivan doted on their son. Like any mother, Ayana taught him to read and write in Roztwór. And when he got bored of it, she would listen to him as he read out his mother's books. Rivan would take him to the fields where he taught Harry archery. Many a times he was joined by Rick, who was a much better archer than Harry due to his experience. Even Gura had joined in once, much to Harry's pleasure.

Afternoons were spent pestering Ulthias and Rashi with numerous questions, which they had been more than happy to answer. While Ulthias gave him hard facts, Rashi told him stories of heroes and legends. Harry never tired of listening to the wonderful tales, his imagination running wild as he imagined himself in the place of the heroes. What had astonished him the most, was how muggle appliances worked in their house. Ulthias had explained that the sprites which travelled to earth and back would often bring back items and appliances from the muggle world before selling it to a man called Ryu. He in turn studied them and charmed them to work in the presence of magic.

Every evening Aku would come over and take him to the village. There, he had unknowingly charmed his way into the hearts of the elves, and made friends with village children. The blue eyed Rick had become his best friend and soon became inseparable. They flew kites, played football, flew on brooms and ate from the local food vendors. At nights, the entire family would sit together for dinner, where the events of the day were discussed and jokes were cracked at the expense of each other. After dinner, they would play a game of cards before turning in for the night. All the elves took turns in tucking Harry to bed, reading stories to him before he fell asleep. He especially enjoyed the lullabies Ayana sang.

Then finally, the time for the ritual had come.

* * *

The forest of Regalia was no stranger to rituals. After all, the elves were a race proficient in rituals. The forest had seen its share of the weird, the creepy and some of the most powerful rituals ever created. However, the ritual that it was about to witness was something that it had not, and would not see for decades.

It had taken an entire week for the preparations to be painstakingly completed. The first step had been to find a site that would give the best results for the ritual. The size of the clearing had not mattered, only the amount of magic it was saturated with. The next step was to draw a perfect circle. Any student of runes would tell you that drawing a perfect circle on paper without any tools was the hardest task in runic rituals. However, when you take in a clearing that had a radius of 20 feet, the difficulty of the task became many times more difficult. The third step was to draw a pentagram inside this circle. Slightly less complex than the circle, it was still a task that required care and precision. And the worst part was the fact that the tome containing the ritual mentioned all of this had to be done manually without the aid of any instruments. With just how complex the task had been, everyone involved had heaved a sigh of relief on its completion.

Three days later, on the full moon day, the ritual was now about to take place. Five cloaked figures stood at the tips of the pentagram. Each figure had the same black cloak, the only difference being a badge that lay on the breast of the cloak that was unique for each being. At the centre of the circle, sitting in the lotus position, was the young child that had caused a great ruckus due to his sudden appearance.

As the moon shone brightly over the clearing, one by one the cloaked figures began to chant their part of the ritual.

"Videte vocationem nostram, quia tutamen Gaia receptor veniunt ad vos in tempore necessitatis."

"Videte vocationem nostram, nostram matrem terram, quia recipiensoportet in dirum."

"O Regina bellatorum, et iudicabor vobiscum ducere accipientis pertribulationes."

"Sacra mater, audi nostra animas. Invocabunt in recipient."

"Propositum est vis in terram vestram, ut haec sit pax turbata estanima"

(Heed our call, protector of Gaia for the receiver come to you in time of need.

Heed our call, mother of our land, for the receiver is in dire need

Oh queen of warriors, we plead you to guide the receiver through his troubles.

Holy mother, hear our souls. They cry for the recipient

It is our wish, in your land, may there be peace for this troubled soul)

As the chanting reached its crescendo, a blinding light enveloped Harry. The world began to spin like a roller coaster that's gone crazy. As the world stopped spinning, he opened his eyes, barely controlling his urge to puke his guts out. When he finally got control of his systems, he looked around to find that he wasn't in the forest anymore.

All around was empty darkness. In this darkness, stood a single lady. She was the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen. Cloaked in a white robe, she appeared to be floating over the ground. On her head was a tiara that had three crystals, red, blue and green. Her bright, golden eyes were alert as she scanned Harry. But when she spoke, her words were quite unexpected.

"Bloody hell, you're just a kid!"

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A/N: This update was just me making the changes suggested by my beta reader.

Next chapter will be uploaded around 1st as I'm currently enjoying my vacations (far too much according to my mother).

Thank you for the reviews. Hope I get more of them. Especially ones with plot ideas and opinions.

See Ya!


	6. Chapter 5:Demeter

**A/N: **The chapter is a short one, sorry. Hope you'll like it.

Happy New Year to all my readers!

Enjoy.

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**Chapter 5: Demeter**

Dumbledore slumped into his chair at Hogwarts with a sigh. Like almost every day since the Potter brat had fled from his home, it had been a very long day. First, he had to smooth some feathers, many of them belonging to the heads of various nations, which had been ruffled by the stupid minister Fudge. How that bumbling buffoon became a minister he would not know. Of course, he conveniently forgot that it was mainly due to the fact that Dumbledore had supported Fudge, or rather, that Dumbledore had ensured that the only other applicant to the post, Barty Crouch, did not get much support. After all, if the man could send his own son to Azkaban then how would the Death Eaters reform themselves as valuable assets to the society? It would simply not be favourable towards the Greater Good.

Then he had to attend the Hogwarts' Board meeting. The meeting had been a colossal waste of time, with the Board members listening to the school reports, occasionally gossiping about the latest happenings in the Wizarding world. He was thankful that the Longbottom matriarch had been absent from the meeting. Since the attack on Frank and Alice, Augusta had been forced to take care of young Neville leaving her with very little time to attend such meetings. He would rather listen to the irritating buffoon of a minister than listen to her taunts of his 'pet spy' and his inability to take care of his underlings. On the plus side, he was happy to note that Lucius Malfoy was working his way to shedding his Death Eater ways and working for the benefit of others.

When he had finally escaped from the Board, he was visited by Sirius Black, asking him for news on Harry. He had then spent a good half an hour consoling the mutt and assuring him that he was doing his utmost to find the brat. When would they realize that he had been an insignificant pawn in the greater scheme of things? After all, if the child had not run away, Dumbledore would have ensured that he was placed with Lily's sister to ensure that his plans would be perfect.

Thinking about Harry Potter made Dumbledore think about Nathan Potter. It was about time he started to integrate himself into the Potter household and make Nathan think of him as a grandfather. He would wait till Lily gave birth again to start his plans. After all with a newborn to pay attention to, they would find it difficult to look after Nathan. At that time he would volunteer to look after him and guide him to his destiny. Thus he would ensure that the Greater Good he worked for would be achieved. Happily sucking on his Sherbet Lemons, he daydreamed of the wonderful Utopia he would create.

* * *

Severus Snape sat in his office overlooking the Black Lake at Hogwarts, nursing a glass of good Scottish mead. Many a student would be surprised to see that the office was not a dark and damp cave or a dungeon, but a tastefully decorated office with soothing colours that were neither too depressing nor too bright. As he watched the giant squid splash around in the lake, he could not help but wonder on how his life had turned out the way it did.

He had been sixteen years old, half way into his sixth year that he had been contacted by the dark lord's followers. They had recognized his talent with potions (from his exams) and the dark arts (when Nott had seen him practice Sectumsempra in an empty classroom). They had felt that he belonged with them after the incident with Potter that had broken his friendship with Lily. And in a moment of youthful ignorance and arrogance, he had pledged his services to the dark lord and had been branded like a cattle to his master.

Years of working under the dark lord had made him weary of life. The constant pressure to create potions in larger quantities, the raids, the regular slaughter of Muggles, and the dealings with psychopaths like Bellatrix Lestrange, had mangled his soul. Only his proficiency in Occlumency had allowed him to hide his feelings from the dark lord and his followers.

Then came that night: He had been at Aberforth's bar to drown his sorrows, when he saw Albus Dumbledore go to a private room with Sybil Trelawney. He had been thinking about joining Dumbledore for a long time, and it seemed that the perfect opportunity had presented itself. As he waited in the shadows to speak to the headmaster, he heard the witch utter a prophecy. Before he could hear the entire prophecy, he had been spotted by Aberforth and had to make a quick getaway to save his hide.

Angry about his treatment at the bar, a slightly intoxicated Snape had rushed to the dark lord and repeated the part of the prophecy that he had heard. Pride turned to panic as the dark lord interpreted the prophecy as the Potter family heir being the one to bring about his downfall. This cemented his decision to join Dumbledore. Thus, he became a spy for the Order.

And yet, tragedy struck. Pettigrew had betrayed the Potters and was now rotting in Azkaban. The dark lord had attacked the Potter house when James and Lily were not at home. And somehow, he had been defeated. He knew that the dark lord was not dead. The mark on his arm was proof enough for him. And according to Dumbledore, the fate of the world now rested on Nathan Potter.

How he loathed that name. Potter had been a bane to his existence since the first train ride where he had been sitting with Lily. Now the two had two children, with one being the prophesied one. Snape had met the boy once. He had been thoroughly disgusted by the constant pampering the toddler received while the other one, 'Harry' he reminded himself, had stuck to the shadows. He had tried to warn Lily about neglecting the other child, but had been rudely brushed away. Now, the boy had run away and she was crying over the proverbial spilt potion. He wondered where the sweet, loving Lily had gone to be replaced by the shallow, haughty lady. As usual, he laid the blame solely on Potter's shoulder. After all it was once she got together with James that she had turned out the way she did. He only hoped that the disappearance of her second child would be enough to bring her back to her old, loving ways.

* * *

It was now twenty minutes since Harry had disappeared into the blinding light and she was starting to get antsy. They had no idea what the ritual was supposed to do, nor how long it would take to complete it. And if she was to be asked, it was taking too bloody long.

"Stop fidgeting Aku. You're disturbing my nap."

Levelling a glare at her companion, Aku replied waspishly, "Maybe I wouldn't be disturbing your nap if you weren't dozing in the first place. Honestly, what sort of uncle would be worried about his sleep when his nephew was in a potentially dangerous situation?"

Ignoring the venom in her voice, he let out a huge yawn before replying "The kind who has utmost faith in the Tribunal and also his nephew."

"Even when you know that the ritual is dangerous and untested?"

"Hey, I've done a few untested rituals myself, you know. And boy, were they fruitful. There was this one time when I…"

"And how exactly are these two situations similar? I'm quite sure that a five year old child is not going to have sex today."

"Well, with magic you never know."

"Oh lord. Harry better get back here soon or I'm going to be castrating someone pretty soon."

* * *

"Bloody hell, you're just a kid!"

'Now how do I respond to that?' Harry thought frantically. Thankfully, he was saved by the woman clearing the throat and taking on an air of superiority.

"Welcome to my domain Mortal. I'm Demeter, Goddess of fertility and Guardian of Gaia. What is the reason for your invoking the Call of Thesmophoros?"

"Call of Thes ... Thesmo ... what?"

The woman sighed "This is why I hate dealing with Mortals. Although, I guess I should cut you some slack, seeing as you're just a little boy." That brought a frown to his face. "Hey, don't frown, kid. It's the truth so deal with it."

"Ok, _Grandma_ Demeter."

'Yup, Aku's been a bad influence on me.'

To Harry's surprise, Demeter, instead of getting angry, had a huge grin on her face.

"Cheeky brat. I think I just may come to like you. To answer your question, it's the Call of Thesmophoros. Thesmophoros is one of my surnames. It is derived from the Greek word _thesmos_ meaning 'Divine Order'. So in short the ritual you conducted was to grant you an audience with me and to invoke, change or add to the Divine Laws"

"Divine Laws?"

"The laws I've laid down to ensure that Gaia prospers."

"I'm getting a headache."

A tinkling laugh snapped him out of his reverie. "You're alright kid. So what's your name and why are you here?"

"My name's Harry. I'm here because some people were worried about my scar and thought this ritual was the best way to get rid of it."

"You're scar huh. Let me see."

He watched curiously as her hands glowed a light green and she waved it over his scar a few times, his worry growing as he saw a frown develop on her beautiful face.

'A soul fragment embedded in it, huh. Pretty unstable, taking a guess, it would be a sixth or seventh cut to the original soul. Pretty gruesome. Wonder why the dark lords these days are such idiots. I mean look at Kronos. Why can't they be at least a little like him? Oh well, I guess it's best if they do not follow in my brother's footsteps. It would be less troublesome for us dear sisters. But, the question is what do I do with it?'

"Ok kid, I need to do a more extensive check. This may sting a little."

Her hands glowed brighter, the green becoming more visible and she moved them over his head, chanting in a language he didn't understand. Like she said, it did sting. A lot. Harry was sure that by the end of this meeting, he was going to get a severe migraine.

'Hmm. Nice deflection, even though it was subconscious… Man, how did he make that statement? I see the neglect starting slowly … Nice levitation kid… Good choice in books ... She made sure the mundane progressed huh… Oh that's how he came here… She sure must be mad she lost this gem.

But it's worrisome. While the soul fragment is the root cause of his troubles, its elimination alone will not be the required solution. What to do? Maybe… yes, that would be the best path for this problem.'

Demeter opened her eyes. "Well there's bad news, good news, and there's very good news. What would you like to hear first?"

Taking in a huge breath of air, that seemed to be minty for some reason, he replied, "Start with the bad news first."

"Well the bad news is that with enough preparation, I can get rid of the soul in your scar."

"Isn't that good news? If that's the bad news, then what's the good news?"

"The good news is that it will take some years for the preparations to be completed and till that time, I can make sure that the soul won't cause you any damage by placing it in stasis."

"That certainly is good news. But what is the very good news?" Harry asked, concluding that it must indeed be extremely good if the previous news were any indication.

"You'll be the one to take care of the preparations. From start to finish."

Yup, he had a migraine alright.

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**A/N:**Its been a long time since my last update and I'm truly sorry for that.

I know I said I would post this chapter on the 1st but I wanted to get it proof read before I posted it.

Please Review!

See Ya.


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